


Truth, Hidden Relations, and a Vehicular Accident

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Allison Argent & Isaac Lahey Friendship, Allison Argent & Lydia Martin Friendship, Alternate Season/Series 03A, Awkwardness, Bechdel Test Pass, Canon Character of Color, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Gay Character, Condoms, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Protagonists, Female-Centric, Interspecies Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Late Night Conversations, Literal Sleeping Together, Love, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Minor Character Death, Minor Ethan/Danny Mahealani, Minor Heather/Stiles Stilinski, Morally Ambiguous Character, Non-Canonical Character Death, POV Multiple, Past Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes Return to Beacon Hills, Vernon Boyd & Isaac Lahey & Erica Reyes Friendship, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: AU. When Erica comes back to town, is hit by a car, and almost dies (not from the car), relationships are strengthened, changed, and left uncertain. Complete.





	Truth, Hidden Relations, and a Vehicular Accident

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

A week ago, Boyd called Allison a bad driver.

Allison had been happy to ignore this.

Groaning, Erica looks up at her. “Hey, Allison. I’m guessing you’re still not over a lot of things.”

A large dose of relief sweeps through her. “This was an accident, I swear. What were you doing running across the road at six in the morning? No, never mind. Um, how badly are you hurt?”

There’s no answer, and the relief plummets. “Erica?” There’s no answer, and she mutters, “No, no, no.” After a moment of hesitation, she lets go of the knife in her pocket and moves closer.

Feeling a pulse under her fingers, she sighs. “Oh, thank God. Okay, uh- Just, stay. I’m going to get my cell phone and call- Stay.”

She gets her phone, and thankfully, Erica hasn’t vanished and still has a pulse.

“If you’re calling to cancel-” Lydia starts.

“I, um, just hit Erica Reyes with my car. It was an accident, she ran out in front of me. She’s unconscious.”

“Tell me where you are, sweetie.”

…

Erica’s wearing dirty clothes, she obviously hasn’t bathed in several days, and most worryingly, she has bruises scattered all over her body.

If Boyd knew Erica wasn’t still at her grandmother’s, it’s not surprising he wouldn’t tell her or the others, but she doubts he knows Erica has been anywhere near Beacon Hills recently.

She knows she has to call Isaac, but every time she thinks she has what she needs to say figured out, the words slip away. _Erica’s back in town, and I accidentally hit her with my car, come down to the clinic_ , would be the easiest part. Isaac probably won’t ask too many questions.

When he tells Boyd, though, and Boyd appears- Boyd probably won’t ask many questions, either.

Eventually, this is going to get back to Derek, and so far, Derek staying out of her and her dad’s way and them staying out of his has been working.

Deaton comes out, and her stomach drops at the look on his face.

She stands. “What’s wrong? What do we need to do?”

“I’d suggest you take her to a regular hospital. Her family should be contacted. She’s been poisoned by a rare form of wolfs bane, and it’s- unfortunately, it’s too late. She won’t last another 24 hours.”

Taking a breath, she pulls out her phone.

“Allison? Hey, I thought you and Lydia-”

“Stiles, get Derek now. Bring him to the clinic. Don’t ask questions, just get your ass and his down here as quickly as possible.” Hanging up, she heads to the bathroom to tell Lydia.

…

“The Calavera family hired several scientists in the 70s to modify wolfs bane. One strand, which I believed had been completely destroyed, had a 100% success rate. Once it was introduced into a werewolf’s blood stream, they died within 72 hours. It’s been in her system for over 48 hours.” Deaton places a hand on Erica’s forehead. “I can’t say whether she’ll regain consciousness or not. If it’s any consolation, I’m fairly confident she’s not in any pain right now.”

Isaac’s visibly trembling, and she wonders if putting an arm around him would be welcome or not. “Derek, where’s Boyd?”

Derek shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

“But we’ve both called. He said- what if someone’s got him, too?”

If he doesn’t want to be touched, he’ll tense up, and she’ll apologise and move away, but she can’t just stand by and not, at least, try.

He shudders when she hugs him, and then, he’s burying his head in her hair.

“I’m calling my dad. He might be able-”

“Do you have proof she’s broken your code?”

Irritation floods her, but pushing it aside, she says, “I want to help her, Derek. If there’s any chance someone’s developed an antidote, if there’s anything that might save her, my dad has the best chance of finding it.”

Stiles comes in. “Okay, one, Mrs McCall can’t decide if she’s angry at us or not for not bringing Erica to the hospital straight away. Two, she is, no doubt about it, angry at Scott, and so am I. He got into a dirt race, which he didn’t call to tell me about, why am I just now hearing about it- anyway, yeah, he’s staying at his cousin’s house until his bike can be fixed. Can’t you break her arm again? Give her some herbs like you did Isaac? Something?”

Isaac draws away. “What about fire?” He looks at Derek. “You’ve said fire’s been used to burn out wolfs bane before. Right?”

“I’ve had the misfortune of reading the studies that were conducted,” Deaton says. “Nothing has...”

Quietly, she asks Stiles, “Has Lydia gotten a hold of anyone in Erica’s family?”

“No. Hell of a time for her parents to be out of town, isn’t it?” He chuckles mirthlessly.

Boyd walks in, and one look at him makes her feel cold and achy inside.

She wants to assure him they’ll figure this out. The others saved Jackson; she can help them all save Erica. She has a strong urge to insist, again, that this morning was an accident, but she knows she’d probably end up pointing out, even if she wanted to hurt Erica, she wouldn’t damage her car to do it, and though true, this would only paint her further as the psycho Derek sees her as.

Now isn’t the time to get angry about anyone trying to kill Lydia. Lydia is alive and safe.

It’s Erica’s who’s lying here dying, it’s Isaac who isn’t going to be able to hold his tears back for much longer, and it’s Boyd who’s just learned a person he loves deeply is dying.

Before she can figure out what to say and do, Boyd is picking up the clinic’s phone. “There’s a dying girl at Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. She’s Catholic. It’d be good if there was a priest when she got to the hospital.”

He hangs up, and she knows without asking or looking at the phone he just called 911. They have him on tape, they can confirm the call was placed from the clinic, and if it’d be a good idea to move her anywhere, he just made that extremely difficult. ‘Dying girl’, and it’ll take less than ten minutes for the sound of sirens to ring out, especially since he obviously didn’t answer any questions the dispatcher would have been trained to ask.

Derek puts a hand on Boyd’s shoulder.

“I better call my dad,” Stiles says. “He’ll definitely have questions, and-” He takes out his phone, and she can see how violent his press of the buttons are.

…

At the hospital, her dad quietly says, “Sheriff Stilinski wants to talk to you alone. Tell him a deer hit you, and when you got out to check the damage, you found her on the side of the road, Allison. She has enough inconsistent injuries it’ll take time to determine whether a car contributed to them.”

“You mean it’ll take time to do an autopsy.”

He sighs. “Yes. We need to keep Sheriff Stilinski out of this world, sweetheart. And- Allison, this wasn’t your fault. Whatever happened, whoever did this, you had nothing to do with it. If it weren’t for the poison, she would have been able to stand back up before you even got out of the car. We can’t do anything to help her, but we can do something to help Stiles and his father.”

 _What if we can, but you’re choosing to not even try_ , hovers in her head.

She’s sent Isaac to get the bestiary. Her dad didn’t bring it, but then, she didn’t say anything about it. Maybe, if she had, he would have.

…

When she’s done talking to the sheriff, Melissa is waiting for her with a tired smile. “If you want to see her, I’ll take you.”

She nods. “Thank you.”

Boyd, Derek, and a priest are there, and sitting next to the bed, the priest is reading, “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable...”

On the other side, Boyd has his head bowed and his eyes closed.

Going over to the window, she takes a steadying breath. “Have you ever dealt with the Calaveras?”

“Not directly. Kate once told me that your family didn’t get along with them when her mother was still alive. Mrs Argent’s grandparents were holocaust survivors, and she objected to the capture and experimentation done on shifters. When she died, Gerard formed an alliance with them. I don’t know if my mom or Peter have ever dealt with them.”

The usual tangle of emotions she feels when Kate’s mentioned is more intense than normal. She’s gathered enough to know, not only did Derek and Kate know one another before the fire, Derek had good feelings towards her. She doesn’t know whether they were friends (or Kate just made him believe they were), if he saw Kate as a good hunter who understood his family fit within the code, or maybe the worse possibility of all, if adult Kate was in a relationship with teenage Derek.

She’s not sure if she’ll ever be able to fully ask about all this, but even if she is someday, now definitely isn’t the time.

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead,” the priest continues. “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is…”

“Do you think the Calaveras might be near? Would they have any reason to specifically target Erica?”

“I don’t know if they are or not. If they are and managed to catch her, the fact she’s a werewolf is enough.”

There’s a knock, and Isaac slips in. “I got it.”

“Good.” She won’t say it, but Gerard actually had the right idea about something: Namely, keeping the bestiary on a flashdrive.

Her dad claims to not know what happened to it after Gerard disappeared, but soon, she’s going to scan it herself, put it on another flashdrive along with her laptop, and upload it to the cloud.

Taking it, she gives him what she hopes is a gentle smile.

Nodding, he goes over, sits down next to Boyd, and presses their shoulders together.

“Allison.”

She turns to see Lydia at the door, and Lydia motions for her to come.

“My brothers and sisters, Jesus says: "Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and...”

…

Outside the hospital, Stiles asks, “Any change?”

“Not that I can tell. She’s still unconscious.”

“That’s something that can be changed,” Deaton says. “There’s a way to wake her up.” He holds up a vial.

“Will it make her die faster,” Stiles asks.

“I don’t know.”

“Make her feel pain?”

“Again, I don’t know.”

“We should be talking to Boyd and the others about this,” she says. “They’re the closest thing to family she has right now.”

“Allison, this might be the best chance we have at finding out who’s responsible and why they did this,” Lydia says. “If she doesn’t know who and why, she might still be able to tell us enough that we can figure it out.”

“That’s true,” Stiles says, “but if we wake her up and she’s in too much pain, all we’ll have done is make her last-” He looks down. “If we can’t save her, no one deserves a painful death. Especially not her.”

She can see both sides, and she thinks they probably can, too. Lydia wants answers, a shot at making sure this doesn’t happen again, and maybe, she personally wants to see those who hurt a sixteen-year-old girl punished, and Stiles does, too, but he’s always cared about Erica on a personal level.

“It’s not our choice. Stiles, I know you care about her, but Boyd, Derek, and Isaac are closer to her than you are. They get to decide. Here,” she takes the vial, “I’ll go talk to them.”

Please, don’t let Erica be dead, she prays. Please, there has to be something we can do.

…

“Do you think we should try contacting the Calaveras?”

Her dad sighs. “If you want me to, I can try. Allison- Erica tried to kill Lydia. The code-”

“Do you think I’ve forgotten all the people, including her and you, who’ve tried to hurt Lydia? How about we break it down, Dad? Peter bit her, and then, took over her mind. You thought him biting her might turn her into a werewolf, and what exactly did you have planned if you caught her? To experiment on her? Lock her up? Kill her?”

He’s quiet for a long moment. “We should have talked to you and the others. We were just going to make it clear what would happen if she ever stepped out of the code. Aside from Scott, your mother never-”

“How were you going to do that? Chain her up and show her videos or pictures of what’s been done to werewolves who don’t fit? Hurt her and warn her how much worse it would be?”

“I-” He rubs his eyes.

“I hate the fact Derek and them tried to kill her. But I know that they all truly thought there was no other way to save innocent people. We all thought she was the kanima, and none of the solutions Scott, Stiles, and I tried to stop or contain it worked. If you had believed she was it, too, what are the chances my best friend would be dead right now, Dad?”

He flinches. “I don’t want Erica to die, sweetheart. But we agreed we’d both stay out of everything supernatural. No more hunting for me, no more getting involved in anything Scott and the others are involved in for you.”

She scoffs. “Right now, they’re all mourning a sixteen-year-old girl. As much as I’d like to not be involved in that, I’m not having any luck in figuring out how to save her. So, I’m going to go see if there’s anything I can do to make them more comfortable, help them feel a little bit better.”

…

The priest raises an eyebrow when Lydia carefully cuts off two strands of Erica’s hair, swabs her mouth with a q-tip, and puts the q-tip in a plastic bag.

“In case her parents don’t get here in time. Her mom keeps a scrapbook, and every year she adds a strand of Erica’s hair to it. She should have a strand from the last time her daughter was alive.”

Giving her a small smile, he continues, “God, thank you for being with us right now. We confess that we don’t understand why things happen the way they do. We don’t understand why illness comes into our lives, but we do know that you walk every path of life with us. Remind Erica...”

Touching Boyd’s shoulder and smiling sympathetically at Isaac, Lydia goes out into the hallway.

“Hey.” Stiles touches Derek’s arm.

When Derek looks over, he firmly says, “Call if there’s any change.”

Derek nods.

Squeezing his arm, Stiles leaves.

…

Stiles pulls Roscoe out of the hospital parking lot. “Hey, uh, Lydia. About Erica. Does her mom really keep a scrapbook? With strands of hair.”

“Mm-hm.” Lydia applies her lipgloss.

“Did, uh, did they tell you this when you talked to them?”

“Right now, let’s just focus on seeing if we have a chance in hell of coming up with a cure for the dying girl.”

When they get to the school, he produces keys and opens the door for her.

“You also have some for the science lab, right?”

“Of course.” He jangles them.

…

Sitting in the waiting room, Allison decides, with the amount of different wolfs bane there are, even without her great-great grandparents being holocaust survivors, her grandmother was right to draw parallels between Nazi scientists and certain hunters.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closes her eyes and focuses on her heartbeat.

“Could I ask you something?”

She jumps, and the bestiary falls on the floor.

Picking it up, she looks over to see Boyd standing next to the chair.

Standing, she tentatively asks, “Erica?”

“No change.”

“Of course. Let’s go outside.”

…

They find a bench to sit at.

“When you found her, did she say anything? Or was she already unconscious?”

“Yeah. She talked before she lost consciousness, but she didn’t say anything useful. Boyd, I promise you, I didn’t intentionally hit her. She-”

“I know. This isn’t about that. Do you remember what exactly she said? Would you tell me?” He looks down at his hands. “They might be her last words.”

The words make her feel as if she’s being choked.

She hadn’t stopped to think the others- along with the relief, she’d been mildly annoyed and amused before Erica lost consciousness. There’s really nothing useful to knowing Erica likely hasn’t gotten over what Allison did to her and Boyd, or if there is, she can’t see it.

Boyd made sure Erica was given access to a priest. Whether he believes in God or not, he respects Erica’s belief. If last words hold something he or she or both places importance in-

Hoping this helps instead of increasing the hurt, she quietly tells him.

He makes a small sound. “Thank you.”

Before she can respond, he heads back inside.

…

Stiles’s phone rings, and he hits decline.

Lydia looks up from the microscope. “Not one of the others?”

“No.” He sighs. “Heather.”

“Right.” She frowns. “Didn’t you have a special date planned?”

“Yeah. You’d think Erica would be a little more considerate, wouldn’t you?”

Giving a small chuckle, she goes back to looking through the microscope. “What’d you tell her?”

“That a friend was sick. Turns out, that was a mistake. I told her I wanted to go alone, that Erica might not be up to meeting anyone new right now, and she was awesome about it. Except, she wants to have flowers delivered to the hospital. Since Erica can’t tell us what sort of flowers she’d like, I’m supposed to find out what Erica’s parents might like. And uh, I- as far as she’s concerned, Erica is having normal, epilepsy-related problems and is just sleeping while the doctors figure out what the exact issue is.”

“I’m now glad I’ve never seriously dated a human. Remind me to never.” She makes some notes. “Tell her that arrangements are being made to have her airlifted to a hospital close to her grandmother. Ask if she’d like to help you write an actual letter to Grandma Reyes instead of just sending a card and insist on helping cover the cost of any flowers sent.”

“God, you’re amazing,” he declares.

She smiles. “I know.”

“I’ll be right back.” He slips out.

…

“He’s right. You are.”

Taking the Petri dish out from under the microscope, Lydia looks over. “You and Ethan have been spying on us?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah, we know that Reyes is dying. We don’t have anything to do with it.” When she doesn’t respond, he says, “I was thinking, maybe, we could help.”

She scoffs. “Even if you’re telling the truth about not having anything to do with it, how do you know Deucalion or the others might not have had something to do with this? And do any of us, especially me, strike you as stupid enough to trust you after everything you’ve done?”

“We came for Jackson and Derek. We let them go when we found out that we couldn’t ransom them for Jackson, and she’s not part of his pack anymore. We don’t care about her.”

“She might not be, but Boyd and Isaac still are. You tried to kill them.”

Coming over, he sits down. “Why are you trying to save her? Why do you keep helping them? They tried to kill you. Derek’s uncle left you for dead, and you almost ended up freezing to death because of what he did.”

“You’d better go before Stiles gets back. Remember, if you hurt any of the humans, suddenly, Allison’s dad will finally start taking an interest in you, your brother, and the others.”

“Lydia-” He stills her hand.

Inhaling, she shakes her head and purses her lips. Moving her hand away, she says, “For years, I’ve been lonely, bored, and unhappy. It’s pathetic how much better everything was when Allison came and I finally had a real friend, a best friend. I hadn’t had a true friend in years.”

“And I thought my best way to escape was to be everything everyone expected me to be. Before Allison, Jackson was the only one who really saw me, and he was in the same place I was. I kept telling myself I could reinvent myself in college. It didn’t matter who I hurt, because, I was hurting.”

“But then, yes, Peter hurt me. Erica, Isaac, Boyd, and Derek tried to kill me. They tried to kill Jackson. Scott didn’t mean to, but that doesn’t excuse the fact he hurt Allison so badly by not telling her the truth about her mother.”

“All that changed me. I survived multiple people trying to kill me. I came out of a person attacking my sanity with it still intact. All that, it made me realise I can and should be who I really am, not put on a show, and that I can never hurt innocent people again. Not intentionally.”

“I see you,” he says. “I may not always understand you, but I see you. I don’t want you to put on a show for me.”

Sighing, she curls her hand around the side of his neck. “Never mind the issue of you still trying to get Derek to join your murderous cult of alphas, you and I are never going to be more than two people having some fun when we’re both free. You really need to get that through your head. You’re not just a bad boy. You’re a bad guy, Aiden. I don’t want someone normal or even nice, but I need someone who will be good for me. I want to help people, and you held two teenagers hostage and shoved a pipe through Derek.”

“Actually, that was Ennis and Kali. I was at school.”

She kisses him. “If you’re free later this week, I might be able to make time in my schedule for you. Right now though, seriously, leave before Stiles gets back.”

Coming in with his eyes down on his phone, Stiles says, “Okay, I talked to Heather and Derek. Heather’s being great. They had to put Erica on oxygen, but she’s still hanging on. They’re afraid they might have to do a breathing tube soon.”

Looking over at the windows, Lydia takes in the fluttering curtains. A slight smile crosses her face, but shaking it away, she asks, “Did he say anything about her brain activity?”

…

As they’re walking away from the school, Ethan comments, “That went well.”

Aiden glares. “Don’t.”

“At least, Danny wants to be with me.”

They stop at their bikes, and with red eyes, Aiden insists, “Don’t.”

Ethan scoffs. “What’s the matter? Can’t take what you dish out? In case you’ve forgotten, Deucalion told both of us to stop pursuing them. Take the out. Since you’ll never be anything important to her, anyway.”

“And you think you’ll ever be anything important to Danny? Even if he was okay with the werewolf thing, which is a big if, you think he’s that different from Lydia? He likes the rebel without a cause thing we have going, but if he ever found out what all you’ve done-” Aiden gives him a pointed stare.

“What is the big difference? Aside from the fact he wants a relationship with me, what’s the difference between her and him?”

“He’s human.”

“So’s she.”

“No, she’s not. She was bitten, she has visions and hears things.”

Ethan rolls his eyes. “Yeah, she was bitten, and for all we know, nothing happened. She’s just immune and possibly crazy. Or still possessed. Crazy is the usual diagnosis for people who see and hear things that aren’t there.”

“No. She’s not crazy, and she’s not possessed, but there’s something supernatural going on with her.”

“Uh-huh. When have we ever been able to fully trust Deucalion? For all we know, he wanted me to get close to Danny for some reason other than Danny being friends with Jackson. Maybe there’s something potentially special about Danny, too.”

“You’d better hope there isn’t. If Deucalion decides to go after him, would you risk your life for him?”

Ethan shrugs. “I don’t know. Would you for her?”

There’s silence.

Finally, Ethan shakes his head. “I used to wonder why we could never find a decent pack. Why the only ones who’d give us the time of day were the sadistic ones looking for punching bags. But now, I know. It’s because of you. You turn on everyone, including me. When our lives literally depended on it, you couldn’t not antagonise people.”

Aiden growls. “You wouldn’t still be alive if it weren’t for me.”

“True, but right now, I’d be a lot happier if it weren’t for you.”

“Same here. You want a boring, confining life with some human? See how long that lasts.”

“If he were a werewolf, would you be so against me trying to have a normal relationship? He likes me. He makes me feel good, and I make him feel good. If you got to know him-”

“What was that about antagonising? Deucalion isn’t someone we want to get on the bad side of, especially if McCall’s right about him killing Ennis. At least, I’m not completely obvious about my feelings.”

Ethan takes a deep breath. “I just want some stability. To not have to look over my shoulder all the time, to feel safe when I go to sleep. I thought you did, too. Having someone who likes me, who I like, is nice.”

“I do,” Aiden says. “What I don’t want is- You want normal, but guess what? We aren’t normal. We never will be. Lydia isn’t, either, and she knows it, and she likes it. It’s one thing she and I definitely have in common: I don’t want to play some role anymore than I absolutely have to.”

Ethan studies him. “Okay, I’m probably going to regret this, but: We’re brothers. It’s always going to be you and me, and no matter how much I like someone, even if I loved them, I’d always put you first. I couldn’t survive without you. And I don’t want to us to have to play by human rules or always be the weaklings, having to take whatever others dish out.”

“But yeah, I like a normal, human boy, and I want to be with him. You like a possibly crazy girl of undetermined species. Even with all we owe Deucalion, what’s so wrong with that?”

Aiden sighs. “Nothing.”

“I’m sorry about Lydia.”

Shrugging, Aiden says, “It doesn’t matter. Just- be careful with Danny. Out of everything that might put us at odds with Deucalion, I’m not willing to risk everything for your little love story.”

They start to unchain the bikes, but Ethan pauses. “Hey, uh, I don’t know if this would get Lydia to give you a real chance, but I might know a way we could save Reyes and get Deucalion off Derek’s back. If it works, two birds, one stone, and if it doesn’t, well, maybe, McCall’s friends will stop the Hale pack from trying to kill us.”

“We do owe them for the times they saved us,” Aiden says. “What’s this plan?”

…

In the hospital parking lot, Derek stops the advancing, clawed Isaac. Looking at Stiles, he says, “You cannot be serious.”

Allison shoots a similar look towards Lydia.

“Yeah, uh, somehow, I am. One of the psycho twins brought up a good point: I’m usually right about people. Even when no one listens or believes me. Now, do I think these two are psychotic sonofabitches? Yes, yes, I do. Do I think they’ve made any true change for the better? No, and I’m really not holding my breath on that one. But, um, I also think, in this instance, they’re telling the truth about this not being a trap.”

Practically growling out the words, Isaac says, “They kidnapped Boyd and Erica. Tortured them for months. Tried to get them to kill each other. They killed that woman, Braeden. They messed with my mind and tried to either throw me in the vault or kill me afterwards. Then, they went after me and Allison both by making me get detention with her and locking us together in a closet.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t recapture Reyes and Boyd after we let them escape,” one of the twins says.

“Or capture you, too, during the summer.”

“Allison found the vault, broke in, freed feral Erica and Boyd, and then, kept knocking them out in the forest until morning. Erica moved like a thousand miles away, and Boyd moved into the loft with Derek and me. I was busy helping the others with Jackson while you were kidnapping them, and afterwards, Derek and Peter never let me go anywhere alone.”

“The only reason she wasn’t caught is, because, Morrell helped her, and if we’d wanted to, we could have taken on a seventeen-year-old human and two feral betas.”

Clearing her throat, Allison shoots them a glare before linking her fingers through Isaac’s. “Hey, this isn’t mine, Lydia, or Stiles’s decision to make. It wouldn’t be Scott’s if he were here. But, Isaac, Erica’s dying. If this doesn’t help-”

Lydia takes over. “This isn’t meant to sound cruel, but if you’re going to lose her anyway, you should consider spending the remaining time with _her_ , not potentially buy a little more time with her comatose body. If this works, she lives, and if it doesn’t, she’s robbed of a few minutes or hours of life. I don’t really know her, but from what I do know, she’d rather lose that time and be able to say everything important than her body be kept alive for a little longer.”

“Derek,” Stiles quietly says.

After a long moment, Derek sighs. “Allison’s right. This isn’t her choice or ours. It’s not even Boyd’s. We’re going to wake her up, and if she can talk, if she can understand us- If not, then, it is Boyd’s. He knows her the best.”

“She won’t,” one of the twins says. “Not if we tell her the truth. She won’t agree. In the vault, she was loyal to you ‘til the end. Even with trying to leave before we got her and moving out to her grandma’s after she escaped, she’s still a Hale beta.”

The other twin nods. “The price is your alpha spark.”

“And possibly your life.”

“If you concentrate, it might push enough power into her to make her heal. But the process of it- she won’t be an alpha, she might not even be as strong as she was before, and there’s a extremely good chance any spark leftover in you will burn out. We only know of this working one time. An alpha named Satomi Ito did it to save someone she loved. In her case, afterwards, she killed another alpha, but she was dying until the friend she saved brought the alpha to her and helped her stick her claws into him.”

Stiles groans.

“Derek?” Isaac gives him a hurt, questioning look.

“We’re waking her up,” Derek says.

…

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness-”

Carrying a medicine cup, Melissa comes in with Derek and Isaac. She smiles slightly at the priest. “Father, this should wake her up. Would you please give her a few minutes alone with her cousin and friends?”

“Of course. I’ll be right outside.”

Once the door’s closed, Melissa carefully gets the concoction down Erica’s throat.

Blinking, Erica comes to with gasping breaths and the heart rate monitor spiking. Resisting Isaac’s attempt to pull her away, Melissa says in a clear, firm voice, “Sweetheart, it’s okay. Erica, listen to me: You’re safe in the hospital. Take a deep breath. One, two, three.”

Complying, Erica’s eyes land on Boyd. “Hey,” she softly greets. Then, uneasiness crosses her face. “What’s wrong? I, uh, I can’t feel you like I normally can, but your face- I’ve never seen you like this, Boyd.”

Leaning down, he kisses her forehead.

“Erica,” Derek says.

She looks over. “Oh, good, you’re all here. Listen, these hunters-”

“Erica, you’re dying,” Derek says. “They poisoned you, and there’s no known cure.”

“What? No. I’m-” She pauses, and then, sniffling, she takes a few deep breathes. Wiping at her eyes, she calmly says, “Mrs McCall, I need a priest or a nun. Derek will take me to one if-”

“There’s a priest right outside,” Melissa gently says. “He’s been sitting here with you and the others all day.”

“My parents? My Grandma Juanita?”

“Your parents are on their way back. Your mom was at a business conference, and your dad was visiting a college buddy. Whenever you’re ready, we can try calling them all,” Melissa answers.

…

After the priest comes in and introduces himself, Derek takes both of Erica’s hands in his, and stopping Boyd from touching her, Isaac shakes his head.

Briefly eyeing them suspiciously, Boyd refocuses his eyes back on Erica.

Erica and the priest bow their heads and close their eyes.

“Lord, give me strength in my weakness,” the priest prays as black veins run protrude against Derek’s skin. “Give me faith in my fear. Give me power in my powerlessness.” Derek’s eyes flicker from red to blue. “I’m trusting you. Amen.”

Blue-eyed Derek hits the floor as Erica’s yellow eyes snap open, and when the priest rushes to check on him, Boyd and Isaac quickly wrap the sheets around her rapidly healing skin.

…

“It appears to have worked,” Deaton announces.

Looking over at the bed they brought in for Derek, Erica demands, “What about him?”

“He’s not poisoned or ill. His strength, however, is extremely low. The best thing I can suggest is you all let him sleep until he’s healed enough to wake naturally.”

There’s a knock on the door, and Allison and Lydia come in.

Seeing the former, Erica produces claws and begins to stride over only to be stopped by Boyd grabbing her. “No. She helped you.”

“Helped? She ran over me with a freaking car!”

“It was an accident. There’s a higher chance of her accidentally killing someone else and herself driving than her deliberately doing it with her bow and arrow.”

“I’m not a bad driver!”

Biting her lip, Lydia rubs Allison’s shoulder, and catching Erica’s eyes, Boyd says, “She is. I have stories.”

Laughing, Erica snuggles against him, and sighing, a small smile crosses Allison’s face.

“Speaking of stories, once Derek wakes up, you’ll need to tell us all about the hunters who did this to you,” Lydia says.

…

Chris stares in shock.

Rolling some suitcases past him, Lydia says, “Sorry, Mr Argent, but this is her choice.”

Looking him dead in the eye, Allison nods. “I’ve talked to Mrs Martin, and she’s more-than-happy to let me sleep in their guestroom. And Deaton’s looking for a part-time receptionist.”

“Allison, this is ridiculous. You’re seventeen! You can’t just-”

“Seventeen is old enough to become legally emancipated. Do what you have to do, Dad, and I’ll do what I have to.”

Something inside him breaks, and he croaks out, “Allison, baby, please-”

She moves out of reach before he can make contact. “Your code has never worked for me. I used to be afraid that that was another way I’m like Kate. In all seriousness, Dad: Thank you for stopping me when we went after Erica and Boyd. I’m glad you shot that bow out of my hand. Thank you for freeing them. I’m always going to blame myself for making it so easy for the alphas to catch them, but you’re absolutely not responsible for that.”

Shaking her head, she takes a deep breath. “But Erica’s alive right now because of her pack and the twins. I don’t know if you could have done anything to help, but you didn’t even really try. Just like you didn’t try to stop Mom.”

He recoils.

“I wouldn’t want to be a werewolf, but if I am ever bitten, I’ll kill you before I’d let myself die, kill myself over it. If Lydia had turned into a werewolf, she still would have been my best friend, and I still would have protected her.”

Quietly, she says, “That’s what I want to do. The world’s full of people who need help. Who need someone to save them. And not all of those people are human. You care, Mom cared, Kate cared, Gerard- I’m not sure if he cared or was just a sociopath. I guess the debate’s still out on Kate, too. But I don’t care if the person who needs help is human or not. If I can, I’m going to help them.”

“No one deserves what this family and other families like the Calaveras have done. I’m almost eighteen, and I’m not going to be part of such a family, and I’m not going to bury my head and pretend that so many people like Scott, like Derek, aren’t unfairly targeted.”

“Okay,” he says. “Allison, we can change- I can-”

“Dad, you’re 42. You moved out when you were eighteen. Before he came back, the last time I saw Gerard, I was three or four. All those years you and Mom were away from him and her family, and you still believe- Scott was my first love. If you’d been a normal parent, if Mom had been, I wouldn’t have had to lie about anything. I was seventeen, in love, and even now, I know he’s a wonderful person.”

“You’ll never see that, though. You’ll never be sorry you might have cost me- I used to dream about marrying him. Having a baby with him when we were older and settled. I don’t know if we would have lasted, but if we weren’t going to, it should have been because of normal things, not my dad breaking my car window and making me cry and beg while he held a loaded gun to a sixteen-year-old boy’s head. Not because of my mom trying to literally asphyxiate him.”

“Deep down, you’re always going to see werewolves as something to hunt, never as people who do good and bad things both and sometimes need help. So, I’m sorry this hurts you, I really am, but I’m going to Lydia’s now. If you want to call the police, go ahead. Just know that, if you make this into a court case, whether I win or lose, once I do turn eighteen, you’ll never, ever have any sort of relationship with me again or, if I ever have kids, with them.”

“Goodbye, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he brokenly says.

She walks out.

…

Derek wakes up.

Looking around, he sees Boyd and Isaac are sitting nearby in chairs. Isaac’s head is on Boyd’s shoulder, and in Boyd’s lap, Erica’s face is buried in the crook of his neck.

He smiles.

Snapping awake, Erica looks over with yellow eyes.

Climbing off Boyd, she comes help him sit up and drink some water as Boyd and Isaac wake up. “You should have let me have a say.”

“You three being safe is all that matters,” he replies. “Did your parents come?”

“Yeah, Mrs McCall finally convinced them to go home. One of you is giving me a ride to my mom’s whenever you’re cleared to leave.”

…

Outside the hospital, the three Hale betas wait for Derek to get the car when they spot the twins nearby.

Both Erica and Boyd shift and start to stride over.

Isaac grabs them. “No. Uh, I hate what they did to both of you, but uh, they also- Erica, they’re the ones who helped Derek save you.”

Derek pulls up. “If you’re interested in meeting on neutral territory, let us know. Erica, Boyd, Isaac, don’t bother with them. Whatever happened in the past, right now neither of them or Allison are our enemies.”

…

The six teenagers meet at the local library.

“How are you doing, Erica,” Allison asks.

“Good. Uh, as much as I didn’t appreciate being hit by a car, thank you. For not hurting me or leaving me.”

Allison nods, but before she can say anything, Erica continues, “And I’m, um, sorry about your car. If I ever get one, I’d be furious if some werewolf ran out in front of me and damaged it.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s my dad’s problem now. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Are you going back to your grandmother’s,” Lydia asks.

“I don’t know, yet. My parents are still trying to figure out how in the hell to handle this, and Grandma Juanita, she’ll respect whatever they decide is best.”

Looking up from the notes he’s highlighting, Stiles pipes in with, “Question? What exactly do they think the situation is? Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see you again, but when did you get here, when did whoever took you take you, how did you get out, and what do your parents and grandma think is going on?”

She laughs. “I’ve missed you, too, Stiles.” Lifting herself from her seat over to Boyd’s lap, she takes a deep breath. “I came here a week ago. I wanted to surprise my mom on her birthday. Her getting a frantic call from Grandma Juanita about me being missing wasn’t what I had in mind. I thought my mom could call when I got there.”

“Instead, some hunters grabbed me in broad daylight right near the apartment complex. I don’t know where they took me, but they tortured me. I’m not sure why. I mean, they didn’t ask any questions, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t blame Derek for any of their family committing suicide.”

Isaac tenses, but no one else gives a visible reaction.

“Then, on the last day, they injected me with the wolfs bane. That’s when things got really weird.” Tilting her head, she frowns. “A man came in, and he killed them all. I’m not sure what he looked like. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, but instead, he literally dragged me. He just kept dragging me. I think I might have lost consciousness or had a seizure at one point.”

“Finally, he shook me, told me to run, and pushed me. I guess I ran. The next thing I knew, you,” she looks at Allison, “were up above me.”

Making an annoyed face and gesture with her hands, Lydia says, “We should have swapped her nails and toenails, too. I didn’t even think to test the saliva for traces of foreign DNA. If she fought back at all-”

“Just a reminder, I’m sitting right here,” Erica dryly says.

Allison squeezes Lydia’s hand.

“Maybe, uh, maybe this man was like Braeden,” Isaac offers. At Erica’s look, he explains.

“If so, I think I should schedule another appointment with Morrell,” Stiles says. “We need to find out what side she’s really on.”

Boyd plays with Erica’s hair. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but maybe we could find out where exactly they took you.”

“Oh, I’m up to it,” Erica says. “I want to know. I’m just not sure how to start tracking. They kept my senses so dull that I’m not sure I’d recognise their scent.”

“All four of you could find the scent of blood easily enough,” Allison softly says. “Even if the bodies were taken and the place cleaned, there’s a good chance there’d still be traces.”

“When’s a good time to start,” Stiles asks.

…

Chris hopes Ms Martin was telling the truth about Allison being out, but he knows, even if Allison was avoiding him somewhere in the house, there’s nothing he can do.

He brought her car over, left a letter taped to the steering wheel, and refused to leave until Ms Martin accepted some money.

He doesn’t know what she left behind at the penthouse. After years of her exasperation at him entering her room without knocking-

Ending up in a bar, he orders whiskey neat.

Everything he could have said comes back. If she’d been a good daughter, dated a normal boy- Not liking a parent’s rules didn’t excuse lying and sneaking around- her mother, his wife, is dead because of-

He finishes the thought, but taking another gulp, he pretends he didn’t.

Peter Hale sits down, and he’s not too drunk to reach his guns or knives, but what’s the point?

“I’d say congratulations, you’ve destroyed my family, your family has won, hollow or not, but I know it’s not turn. True. We were corrupted from within. Gerard, Kate, finally, Victoria. Me. At least,” he raises his glass, “there’s a chance my daughter’s free of it. I wonder if it’s the same for your nephew. Two standing, one of each. It’s not as if you and I count anymore. God, I hope they don’t get married. Wouldn’t that be something?”

“As amusing as this has the potential to be,” Peter responds, “I’m going to remind you of a quote that, though you won’t appreciate the comparison, nevertheless remains true: ‘The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.’ Yes, there’s only you, Allison, and possibly Gerard. There’s only Derek and I. But so long as there’s one Hale, just one, the Hale pack is merely dormant, not dead. Likewise, as long as there’s one Argent alive, the Argent family can’t be said to be truly destroyed.”

He slumps down.

“My nephew hates me, too, and I hate my dead sister. That’s pretty much where the similarities between you and I end. We could debate around and around whether Derek or Allison is worse, but it’s worth noting, my nephew is so screwed up in large part because of your family, whereas, your daughter is- also screwed up in large part due to your family. Seeing as how he’s the older and the one who suffered first, it’s safe to say, anything he contributed to her issues lands right back on the Argent family.”

“I know there’s never going to be a day you say a comforting word to me,” he manages to get out, “but when I’m already down and kicking myself, do you have to take over?”

“Yes,” is the blunt response. “I know when to stop, and I know how to use my kicks to force you to stand back up. My point here is, I was a good uncle. Derek was turning out alright under my care and guidance. Therefore, whether you take it or leave it, and yes, we both know you’ll likely choose the latter, I’m going to give you some advice.”

He finishes his drink. “Well, go on. I’m waiting.”

“All your life, you’ve had a very black-and-white mentality. Part of that is your belief only certain types of people should be parents. Even when you didn’t fit those standards at all, you believed it. Talk to your daughter like a human being, Christopher. That person you worked so hard to leave behind, that you would kill completely if you could, she needs to know about him.”

“Tell her about the werewolf you called a friend and couldn’t save from Gerard.” Peter scoffs. “I swore once not to ever bring this up, but I’m going to operate under the belief I could definitely protect myself against a drunk hunter in a public place. You once loved a wolf so much you were willing to go against your entire family. Your father, your mother, your aunts and uncles and cousins.”

“When it came to your little sister, however, you had to choose between the wolf and what you thought was best for her. She needed her big brother, and so, you- Well, we both know how the story goes.”

“She might accuse you of hypocrisy. But you have another chance. You never told Kate. When I killed her, she died not knowing what you once did for her, who her big brother really was. Some might say worse, she died before you could fully see who she was. Tell your daughter who and what you once were. Let her judge you with all the facts.”

“If she’s anything like her father, it’ll take time for her to process it. Once she does- at least, if one or both of you can’t accept the other, there will be an honesty to it. It’ll hurt more, but if the whole you is rejected, you aren’t left thinking, ‘Maybe if I show this piece of me instead...’”

“History repeats,” he mutters. “All the damn time, it repeats.”

Peter hadn’t cared his beta was dating Allison, the niece of the woman who killed most of his family and, in many ways, destroyed his still living nephew, the daughter of the man who’d once done horrible things to him simply because Peter had known more about him than Chris could handle anyone knowing. Victoria never would have, he knows, but maybe, if they’d just let Allison have her teenage romance-

He imagines his daughter’s clawed up body. Scott isn’t an alpha, but he imagines his yellow or blue or red-eyed daughter standing over humans she was unable to stop herself from attacking. He remembers the hurt of her lying and blatantly disrespecting him despite everything he’d given her growing up, all the love, all the support, everything he could to keep her safe and give her every opportunity to succeed in life.

He wasn’t in love when he was twenty-four. He was rebellious and naïve, and for all Gerard could have been a better father and eventually became a disgrace to the code, this is one thing he did right. He put his daughter first, and when Chris did the right thing, he never ever brought up the biggest mistake Chris ever made. He gave Chris a clean slate, the chance to prove he’d follow the code and always put his family and innocent lives first from then on, and Chris had.

“Give me your hand.”

Sighing, he braces himself for what’s about to come and complies.

The drain always leaves him cold, and all too soon, he’s terribly hungover but otherwise completely sober. It probably took another year or two off his life, but male hunters often die young.

“You could take more.”

Peter stands. “You know why I don’t. See you soon, Christopher.”

…

Sitting on her bedroom desk, Lydia smiles at Aiden. “Thank you for helping save Erica.”

In her desk chair, he says, “We just gave Derek a suggestion on what might work.”

“What you told me and Stiles- why’d you really do it?”

“You know why.”

“Am I the only reason?”

Aiden hesitates. “I had to become what I am to survive. To protect my brother. Before you, I never cared about humans, but we always tried to make sure they didn’t get hurt because of us. We owe Deucalion a lot. If it were just us, kidnapping two sixteen-year-olds isn’t something we’d ever even consider doing.”

He takes a breath. “I’m not sure we can stay with him for much longer. If he killed Ennis, we might be next. You and Scott and the others saved us when it would have been better for you, for all of them, to let us die.”

She slides down into his lap. “Maybe we could help.” Tracing his face and resting her thumbs underneath his eyes, she says, “But you and Ethan would have to understand, your red eyes don’t mean anything to all of us. There used to be a severe lack of communication in the past, mostly,” she sighs bitterly, “when it came to the others keeping things from me.”

“I’m not going to play that way anymore, and Allison agrees with me. Everyone is going to get a say, and the final decision isn’t going to be made based on whether a person’s human, werewolf, alpha, beta, or omega. Except-” She gives him a considering look.

“We wouldn’t get much, if any say.”

“None of the others like or trust you. They’re not exactly unreasonable in their feelings. But even after Derek tried to kill me, I’m not afraid of him or the others. When Scott gets back on Monday, after school, we’re going to try to find where the hunters had Erica. If you want, I’ll convince them to let you help.”

Frowning, she quietly says, “I have nightmares about terrible things happening. If anything like these nightmares happen, we’re going to need all the help we can get.” She takes a breath. “So, maybe, you and he can earn the others’ trust, at least.”

“We’ll help,” he says.

“Good. Also-” She hesitates. “If you ever want or need to talk about what made you and Ethan who you are, I wouldn’t mind hearing it.”

He touches her hands. “It’s the same with me. Lydia, I want to understand you. You can talk to me about things. I promise, I’ll listen, and I won’t use it against you.”

Smiling brightly, she kisses him, and when it breaks, she toys with his belt. “Is this conversation the only reason you came?”

Shaking his head, he moves his hands down to her back.

“If you plan on staying afterwards, I’m a moderately heavy sleeper. There isn’t much you can do to annoy me when it comes to sheets and taking up space. However, if you use the bathroom and leave the toilet seat up, I’ll have Allison use you for target practise.”

A soft smile crosses his face. “What about your mom? Allison?”

She shrugs. “My mother wants to know I’m always safe and being treated right in every aspect of my life. As long as she knows that, there are certain other areas she doesn’t want to know anything else. She especially doesn’t want to have to deal with getting a call from the police or having a police escort drop me off. And as for Allison, she won’t come in without knocking, and her room’s far enough that, as long as we’re quiet, we won’t bother her.”

Kissing him, she goes over to her bed.

Standing up, he reaches into his pockets, and then, pauses in his steps. “I forgot the condoms. Do you still have yours?”

“Of course.” Opening her nightstand, she takes one out of the box and holds it up.

Grinning, he comes over.

…

In Derek’s loft, Boyd looks up from his book.

Getting off the couch, he goes upstairs. When he gets to Isaac’s room, he looks inside and sees Isaac is safely asleep in bed. Going to his own room, he quickly comes in when he sees Erica is tossing and turning but hesitates when he gets to the bed.

“Wake her up.” The lights turn on.

He looks over, and from the doorway, Derek nods. “She’ll need to go to the bathroom soon.”

Boyd gently shakes her, and clinging to him, she opens her eyes. “Boyd?”

“I’m here. I’ll take you to the bathroom, okay?”

“I had- I was back-” She takes a deep breath. “Yeah, okay. Thank you.”

…

After she’s back in his room, Boyd says, “Hopefully, once we get your room ready, you’ll start to feel safer.”

Sitting on his bed, she nods. “For now, though- could you sleep with me? Would you mind? I think I might do better with someone else I trust next to me.”

Giving her a small smile, he turns off the lights and comes over to the bed. Getting in, he pulls her onto it in a laying position.

When he wraps his arms around her, she sighs. “Thanks, Boyd.”

“No problem.” After a moment, he asks, “Were your dreams this bad when you were at your Grandma Juanita’s?”

“Sometimes.” She turns towards him. “I’m sorry I just left like that. I did feel guilty, but my parents-”

“I understand. My mom didn’t take things well, either. I was glad you were safe.”

“Still, I could have called.”

“Why didn’t you,” he quietly asks.

She shrugs. “Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t know if you’d want me to.”

Giving a slight sniffle, she says, “Yeah. I didn’t know if you’d want me to, either.” She presses closer against him. “God, we’re stupid, aren’t we, Boyd?”

“We’re safe and together. That’s all that matters.” He softly bumps his forehead against hers. “Not much has changed here. Tell me about the school you were going to.”

“As glad as I am to be back with you and the others, I’ll miss it. The principal...”

Wrapped around one another, they talk until they fall asleep.

...

Walking through the town, Severo talks on his phone in Spanish. “The code-breakers are all taken care of.”

“Good,” Araya says. “And how is our lobita doing?”

“She’s fully recovered.”

“Are you ready to move onto the alphas?”

“Yes, but- The twins were the ones who helped save her. There’s a chance they could be true allies to the Hale pack one day.”

“Very well. If you think it best to spare them right now, I trust your judgement, mijo.”

“I’ll have the alphas taken care of by Monday.” He stops in front of Beacon Hills High.

“Call me before your flight.”

“I will.”

They hang up, and he goes inside.

When he gets to Marin Morrell’s office, he withdraws his gun before going inside.

Looking up from her papers, she studies him. “Mr Calavera.”

“You’re taking me to Deucalion.” He releases the safety on his gun.

…

In the penthouse, Deucalion stands in front of the windows. “It won’t be long until the lunar eclipse is here. Where are the twins?”

Kali scoffs. “With those humans you ordered them to get close to.”

“Time will tell if that was a mistake on my part or not.” Turning, he tilts his head towards the door. “For now, why don’t you invite our guests in?”

Looking between him and the door with confused suspicion, she goes to the door.

Marin and the gun-toting Severo come in.

“No, Kali.”

Pausing in her advancement, she gives him a disgruntled look.

Unfolding his cane, he walks over. “Hello, Severo. Marin.”

“You know why I’m here,” Severo says.

“Yes.”

Suddenly, claw marks appear across Kali’s neck, and she crumbles onto the floor.

“And I have a proposition for you to relay to Araya. I know Kate Argent is alive. I know she escaped when you tried to force her to comply with your ridiculous little code. A bit rich, isn’t it, to demand that of others when Erica Reyes is allowed to live?”

Severo begins to release the trigger, and grabbing his wrist, Marin manages to lower his arms slightly. “I suggest you listen to him.”

“Nevertheless,” Deucalion continues, “I didn’t know what Erica Reyes was to the Calavera family when I took her. Now that I do know, I’ll be sure to take such facts into consideration in the future. For now, your family desperately wants, some might say _needs_ , to find Kate. Gerard continues to elude me. Allison doesn’t know where he is, and due to an agreement with Peter Hale, going after Chris for the information isn’t currently an option.”

“If Gerard is still alive, he’ll be a sickly old man. He’s unimportant to us. We need to kill Kate as soon as we find her.”

“Naturally. What better way to draw Gerard out than to have his beloved daughter killed yet again? To let everyone know, more than just breaking the code by killing innocents, she was turned, and instead of doing the honourable thing, she killed other hunters?”

“We have no interest in Gerard,” Severo firmly declares.

“No? I’m assuming you don’t know the details of how we caught Erica and Boyd. Gerard sent Allison and Chris to capture them. They did. Part of that involved shooting Erica with an arrow, and then, shooting Boyd with numerous ones while he stood in front of her to shield her. They took them to their basement, and they used electricity to keep them captive.”

“Chris kept Allison from killing Boyd. Then, he let them go, and dazed, in pain, and terrified, they were running around the woods when we caught them. You were right to put her in Allison’s path. She tried her best to help her. Chris made up for what he did by releasing them. But what of the hunter who ordered the capture in the first place? Tell me, did he know about Erica’s connection to Araya? Would he have cared if he did?”

Severo shakes his head. “No, to both.” He looks at Marin. “Is this true?”

She nods. “I recorded my conversations with them in the vault.”

He groans. “If it were up to me, that little lobita- Still, an abuela’s love, yes? Fine, you stay alive until you can make your case to her in Méjico.” He takes out his phone.

Smiling, Deucalion folds up his cane and holds his arm out for Marin. “Lead the way.”’

As they follow him, Marin asks, “What about the twins?”

“Let them have their loves for now. The peace between Derek and Scott won’t last. Derek will kill one of them, if not both, soon enough, and I may be wrong, but there’s a distinctive possibility that, if one is left standing, Scott will target him. And if he does and wins, Peter won’t allow that to stand.”


End file.
